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| Supplements: When to Use and Not Use |
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by Kory Zimney, PT, DPT - February 20, 2012
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The dietary supplement industry continues to increase in popularity, and the amount of money spent yearly on them is a multi-billion dollar industry. But how much benefit do you really get out of them and how do you know which ones to take, if any?
The advertising and hype behind most dietary supplements is greater then their actual benefit. For some people with a medical condition, certain dietary supplements that an individual may be lacking are needed to assist with maintaining optimal health. But the key in that statement is you need a medical condition that should be diagnosed by your medical doctor. Once diagnosed, the proper amount should be prescribed based on what you need to get you too normal.
Many of us fall victim to the thought that “more is better”, when we need to realize that “more is just more”. We know that getting Vitamin C and E are important along with other antioxidants can help reduce sickness. But adding more through mega dosing does no good for us. It is like filling your car up with gas, once the tank is full any extra is just going to spill out and be of no benefit to you except cost you more money. For the most part the wasting of these vitamins and extra nutrients is not going to cause you damage, other then wasting money. There are some cases that this overloading can actually be damaging to you, so you must be careful with what you are supplementing if you need to at all.
Many times we recognize that our dietary habits are not as good as they should be so we try to make up for it with dietary supplements. Research is continually showing us that dietary supplements are not meant for replacement of healthy eating. The way your body uses the natural source of these elements from whole food is better then the engineered format of a pill.
So the bottom line is:
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If you eat healthy you probably do not need any dietary supplements.
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If you do not eat healthy, don’t think taking it in a pill is going to make up for your bad eating.
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If you do have a medical condition that requires a dietary supplement, do it under the care of a physician so you do it properly and don’t harm yourself further.
Kory Zimney is a practicing physical therapist in Iowa. He focuses on helping people move forward with their health and function through movement and exercise. This and other articles by Kory can be found at his blog: http://koryzimney.blogspot.com/
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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| Kory Zimney, PT, DPT |
on 02 Mar 2012 at 11:16 am |
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Anonymous,
Thanks for the comments. While I agree that there are always exceptions to every rule and there may be some specific cases outside those with a medical condition where vitamins/supplements may be helpful.
But fortunately/unfortunately a general blog post it is just that a short tip for the general public, not a detailed book filled with ever bit of information. Fortunately it is a quick read to help the largest number of people. Unfortunately it is difficult to include every detail, so comments like yours are good to point out some specific other details.
A concern with many supplements is the control of dosage. They do not fall under the FDA so there is less control on quality and dosage, which can make it difficult for the average person getting good advice. While I might read one expert pushing one supplement, the problem is that expert may also work or get some form of kick back from the supplement company. This is sometimes difficult to find out and I agree patients need to make very informed choices when picking and choosing if they need a supplement of any sort.
Why do you think if the FDA had more control over the supplement industry there would be more commercials? I think the private industry already commericalizes supplements pretty heavy without FDA, not sure why it would be more? |
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| Anonymous |
on 01 Mar 2012 at 6:28 pm |
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| I know I could have edited the comment a little better, but I was writing on the fly. I hope it still gets the point across. |
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| Anonymous |
on 01 Mar 2012 at 6:22 pm |
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I agree that too much of anything is bad, and that a good diet is a better option than taking supplements, but I do not agree that only people with a diagnosed deficiency or health conditions are the only people who need them or can use them.
It is this mentality that will put vitamins under the prescription system and drug monopoly that\\\'s already out of control. I guarantee you that if vitamins and supplements were controlled by the FDA, there would be 50 commercials a night promoting vitamin C, E and everything else. However, you wouldn\\\'t have 50 ways you might die listed off as soft music plays.
This attitude doesn\\\'t take many other things into account, like athletes with increased cellular injury, protein break-down, and increased hits to the immune system, or people who don\\\'t like the taste of certain foods, or poor, and may be slightly deficient in a vitamin or mineral, or people who are on anti-biotics, loosing good GI bacteria and don\\\'t want to eat yogurt (I never hear an MD tell a pt to replace the good bacteria their loosing secondary to antibiotics; that are often not even needed).
Again, I am all for the right diet, and that people do get carried away with supplement intake, and often at dangerous levels. The better answer, however, is to be educated in the purpose of the supplements you intend to take, if you fit any criteria that might make you deficient (or require extra), know if there are toxic levels associated with them, know if there are general adverse effects or other foods, supplements, and meds you shouldn\\\'t combine. Then, make you own decision.
MD\\\'s will hardly ever lead you towards a supplement if there is a drug that will do the same thing. I\\\'m not saying don\\\'t trust you MD, but know they don\\\'t have a patent of medicine and knowledge. |
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